Packaging liquids.



FRANK HENNEBHLE, or CHIGAGQAND GERHARDT-J. rA'rI'rz, 0F OAK PARK,

ILLINOIS. 1

PACKAGING LIQUIDS.

`T all whom it may concern p Bei it known-that we, FRANK HENNE; BHLE and GERHARDT J. PATITZ, vcitizens of the United States, residing at Chicago and Oak Park, respectively, 'in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inl' Q Packaging Liquids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for transferring beer and other charged liquids from a vat -to-`bottles, barrels, or other containers. vIn such apparatus itis common to use air or other gas under pressure for the following purposes: (a) to force the liquid from the supply vat to the filling tank of the racking 'machine or bottle filler; ,(b) to counterbalance the upward pressure of the liquid in said filling tank for the purpose 'of maintaining constant th'e height of thel liquid "in the tank.; (c) to ll the bottle, keg, or

other container 'with counterbalancing air pressure for the purpose/of maintaining the liquid lpressure while flowing into the container inl order to preventfoaming of the liquid. As the level 'of the liquidin the supply vat is lowered through' the drawing oftl of the liquid, the hydrostatic pressure'due to the height of the liquid in the vatis decreased, and it becomes necessary to increase the air pressure in the vat or to decrease the" lcountei'balancing pressure supplied to the `filling tank of the machine inorder to maintain constant the level. of the liquidI in the filling tank. On the other hand, when a vat becomes empty, and the supply is drawn from a .full vat, thehydrostatic pressure in' vat and operated by the pressure at the bottom of the vatVv due tothe air and the liquid therein, and'to use a separate independent regulator controlling the counterloalancing air pressure in the filling tank. But this method has provenv undesirable because two separate pressure regulators which are required to constantlyA vary the pressure will not operate uniformly. It lwas. also` pro# Spec'catioii of Letters Patent.

vthe air to escape,-

Patented July 27, 1915.

` Application filed December 29, 1911. serial No. 668,389

tween the two pressures by the use of a float.

valve in the filling tank, which maintained constant the level of the liquid -in the tank by openingthe valve when the'liquid fell below the predetermined point and allowing at the same time omitting the regulator controlling the pressure on the "vat, and using, in additionrto the float, a

regulator for' controlling the y'pressure in the tank. When practising this'fmeth'od, it has been found necessaryto set the regulator for the counterbala-ncing air pressure in thek tank so as to deliver an excess pressure, air being constantly wasted through the float valve to relieve this waste of energy. Also, by the use of either .of these methods the pressure in"4 the tank,

and hence lthe pressure of the liquid passing therefromv into the container, constantly changes. It therefore becomes necessary to vary constantly the counterbalancing pressure in the 'container in order to prevent escape of compressed carbon dio-Xid or other gases from the liquid. This object has been arrived at by the introduction of a pressurereducing vvalve in the air Asupply pipe passing to the tank and thus reducing the pressure of the air passing to thef-tankbelow that of the container, and adjusting, as the liquid supply-vat is lowered, this reducing. valve.

This necessarily involved much additional pressure, thus causing constant attention onv the partrof the operator, and

also made necessary a still greater excess pressurewhich was being relieved constantly by the float tering liquid is equal to the pressure in the tank, plus the pressure dueto the height of the liquid Aabove its point ofentrance. So that there should always be a constant eX- valve in order to maintain the proper relation between the pressure in the cess pressurein the'container over the pres-` v sure in the tank.

The object of ourinvention is to obviate the uncertainties due to the use of separa-te regulators for' the vat pressure and the counterbalancing pressure in the tank and inA the container, and to avoid undue waste of thercompressed air. This object we attain by using air-pressure-reducing mechanism to maintain the proper excess pressure in the i l l Y* container over the pressure in the tank, and

using a regulator to control the pressure on the air passing to this mechanism, which is controlled by the combined pressure due to the hydrostatic and pneumatic pressures in the supply vat.

creasesor decreases, the regulator controlled ythereby will correspondingly increase or de- When thisv pressure increase thepressure in both-the filling 'tank and the container, maintaining constant theA excesspressure in the container. At the same time a float valve is .used to maintain a constant liquid level in the iillingtank, the` pressure due to the compressed air on the liquid in the supply vat remaining without' any special regulation.

In the accompanying drawings, I Tigure 1v is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of our invention, and Fig. 2/ is a section of a' portion of the filling tank showing the fioat valve -used therein. I

The drawings 'are merely diagrammatic, the liquid supply vats being reduced in size as compared with the bottle-filling machine,

and the pressure-regulating device being eX- aggerated in size. `For the purpose of illus'- ltrating the invention, we have shown this system asincluding a bottle filler, but it will be understood that the invention is equally ap licable to a racking machine.

ompressed air or other` suitablevgas derpressure entersl through the pipe 1 fromsome. suitable air compression -mechamsm into the supply vats 2. The liquid from one of the vats is forced thereby through one of the'valves 3 and the pipes 4 into the illmg,

heady' 5. From this filling head it passes through the valve 6 and the tube 7 into the counterbalancing air entersl from some suitable air-compression mecha- -nism through the air strainer9 into thei'liigh* container 8.

pressure chamber 10 of the air-pressure-reducing mechanism; thence through perforar tions ll-.in the bottom of this chanibe/I.'

through the water contained in chamber 12,-

higher than the air pressure in the tank, the container being connectedl with thel high pressure chamber of the reducing mecha# nism and the tank being connected with the Q low pressure chamber.

The filling valve 6 may be of any suitable form, as, for example, that disclosed in Patent No. 948,463. This valve is so arranged thatwhen the container is-placed upon the table 15 and raised by means of the raising mechanism below up against the receivingv bell 16 of the valve, the air passage connecting the container with` the tube 14 will belopened. .Counterbalancing air will then pass into. thek container.y I. When the pressure in the container' is sufficiently great the liquid valve in the valve 6 will be opened thereby, and liquid from the tank will pass' through the -t'ube 7 into the container.

Itis desired to maintain the pressure .of the entering liquid equal to the pressure in the container. It is evident, however, that as the container fills, the pressure forcing the liquidtherein will diminishdbecause of the increase-in height of the liquid in the container. Hence it becomes necessary to produce inthe containera pressure equal to the downward pressure on the liquid in the tube at the point to which it is desired to have the' liquid rise in the container when suiiiciently ille'd. To vary the relative pressures of the air in the container and the entering liquid, it is necessary only to vary the height of thewater in the low pressure chamber 12. Water may be forced intoV this chamber from any -suitable water supply'under pressure through Athe pipe 17y and the yalve 17a. The height of the water may be gaged by the glass gage 18, and hence the operator maymaintain the water at the proper height to fill the containers to the desired point, or may, while operating, vary the height to which the containers are filled, by varying, by means of the valve 17, the height of the liquid in the tank. If it is desired to lower the liquid, it may be drawn oii by the pet vcock 19.

The reasonsr why the height of' the water ldetermines the height to `which the vliquid :will rise in the container are as follows: As'

stated, the pressure in the container is equal 4to the pressure in the high pressure cham! ber. The pressure of the air in the tank is equal to the .pressureof the vair in'this cham, ber l0 minus the backV pressure due to the effective height of the water in thechamber 12; while the pressure of the liquid entering .thecontainer is equalA to the pressurein the tank plus the pressure d ue to :the liquid above the point of entrance, or, as the conf tainer fills, -above the liquid in the container'. rTherefore, if the height of the liquid in the tank above the liquid in the container isequ'al tothe effective height of the water, 'the pressure ofthe entering liquid and the air-in the container will become equal and the `liquid will cease 'to flow. `For these reasons it will be seen that the height of the wa.-

ter determines the height to which the liquid will rise in the container.

In order to reduce, if it should be necessary, the counterbalancing pressure in the tankand in the container as the level in the liquidv supply vat`lowers, we use an air vent of any sultable character, asf for example, the .construction disclosed in Patent No. 940,624, and consisting of a iioat valve 20 actuated by a iioat 21 in the tank 5. This valve is openedvby the float' when the liquid by the escape of air through the valve and the pipe 22 and the regulating pet cock 23. If, for instance, the level of the'liquid in the supply vatlowers, the level of the liquid yinthe tank 5lowerscorrespondingly, unless this is brought about by means of the float valve, as stated. As this, however, would not materially affect the counter-balancing "air pressure 1n the container, we also use an airv pressure regulator 24a wh-ich comprises the lvalve casing'32 containing the valve disk 3Q and port 31 and the dia-v phragm casing 24 having chambers 25 and 26 separated by a diaphragm 27. The valve stem 28 is attached to this diaphragm and it passes through the stuffing box 29, andv supports the Valve disk 30 which is seated in the valve port 31 of the valve casing 32. The valve stem is thusbalanced so far as gas under pressure entering the casing from pipe 36 is concerned; the gas tends to move it upward and downward with equal forces. The diaphragm, however,l is weighted by the heavy valve stem 28 and the plates 27a which clamp the stem-,to the diaphragm.

The upper chamber 25 of the regulator is connected freely by means of the passa-geway 33, through the valve stem, and the pipe 34 with the high pressurechamber 10, and hence when the container is being filled the vchamber 25 is also freely connected with the container. The chamber 26 of the regulator is connected by means of a pipe 35 to the liquid supply pipe 4, and hence is under a pressure which is determined by the pressure in the liquid supply vat in use.

As will be shown hereinafter, the pressures in the chambers 25 and 26 of the regulator are maintained approximately equal, hence when the pressure -in chamber 26 is increased, as will be the case when passing for the supply from an empty vat to a full one,

. the diaphragm will be pressed'upward, the

valve port 31 opened, and compressed air will pass throughrthe port yfrom the pipe` 36 into the high pressure chamber 10, and from thence into yboth the filling tank and thecontainer, compensating for' the increased hydrostatic pressure in the vat, so that the liquid in the filling tank will not be raised in height,'and so that the pressure in the container will be lincreased to compensate for the necessary increase in pressure in the tank. n

As lthe liquid in the vat is drawn ofi", the

pressure inl the chamber 26 will decrease,.

the valve disk 30 will be lowered, diminishing the supply of air passing through the port 31, and ultimately, perhaps, closing the port. At the same time the liquid 1n the tank will sink, the float valve will then .relieve the excess pressure in the tank restorlng the level; air will pass from the high pressure chamber into the tank; this in turn, 1f necessary, will be allowed to escape Vthrough the-float valve; the pressure in the of the regulator above the supply vat, for

the following reasons: The downward pressure on the diaphragm 27 will be determined by the pressure in the chamber l0. The upward pressure on the diaphragm will be affected by the height of the liquid in the filling tank 5 above the diaphragm. If the regulatoris placed low so that the upward pressure is maintained greater than the downward, there will be a constant passage of compressed'air into the chamber 10, and if need'be, out of the float valve. And the amount of air passing will depend upon the height' the valve disk is raised. Variations of thepressure due to any cause will cause fluctuations of the height of the disk, and corresponding fluctuations in the amount of compressed air escaping at the fioat valve. On the other hand, if the regulator is placed high with reference to the filling tank so that the downward pressure is maintained greater than the upward pressure, the valve will be held closed, by the greater downward pressure, substantially all the time. In either of these cases the sensitiveness would not be so great as when the upward and downward pressures on the diaphragm are substantially equal. acts as a reducing valve which delivers, not constant pressure but a varying pressure which is determined by and is equal to the pressure on the lowei` side of the diaphragm. A slight increase in pressure from below a correspondingly slight passage of air into asy The valve then the upper chamber of the valve, which will l thus close the valve as soon as the pressure equals that in the lower chamber. Or a slight decrease in pressure in the lower chamber will be followed by a slight excess pressure above and in the lling tank and the float will immediately'relieve the excess. It is usual in practice to increase the pressure upon the supply vats before they are empty, and, as a consequence, it frequently happens that-the pressure due to the supply y is thus increased, although the height of liquid in the vat is decreasing. The Valve then automatically increases correspondingly the pressure in the filling tank. .It will be seen thatthis regulator, controlling as it does the pressure in chamber l0, may

l beused with any-member of filling devicesV ,set in the filling tank Without any change in the position or the construction. of the device. And it Will be evident that by the use of the regulator the pressure in the container in excess of that in the filling tank will be maintained constant when variations in the pressure on the liquid in the filling tank occur for any reason Whatever. Any variation in air pressurev on the supply liquid or variations in the pressure of the air entering the valve 32 Will befully coinpensated for. Y

IVe do not limit ourselves to the details of construction'herein showrnfor various modifications Within the scope of the claims A will occur to those skilled inthe art.

1We claim as our invention:

1. In a liquid filling machine, the combination of a filling tank connected with a source of liquid supply; filling mechanism connected to said tank; and means for supplying gas under pressure to said tankand to a. container to be filled, said means comprising hydraulic means for vmaintaining a constant excess pressure on the liquid en- A tering said container over the gas pressure in said container.

2. In a liquid filling machine, the com- I bination of a filling tank connected with a source of supply under pressure; filling mechanism connected With said tank; means for supplying gas pressure to said tank and to the container to be filled comprising' 3. The combination of a liquid tank;

means for supplying liquid to said tank;

means for removing liquid from said tank; means for supplying gas pressure to said tank; and means depending upon the gas pressure and tlie head` of liquid in said tank.

Efor regulating at all times the flow of gas in said gas-pressure-supplying means.

In testimony'r whereof we a X our signatures in the presence of tivo Witnesses.

Witnesses:

C. PAUL PARKER, GEORGE L. CHINDAHL 

